Dark Chocolate Bark with Pomegranate, Sea Salt, & Chocolate Cookie Crumbs

Happy Valentine's Day. I've been on a bit of a pomegranate kick lately. And to be honest I planned on making chocolate bark over the holidays but got too busy. It was my first time making bark and I was surprised at how easy it was. The whole process only takes about 15 minutes and there's a good chance you already have the ingredients on hand. It makes a great gift, snack to sneak into the movies, or perfect simple Valentine's treat. 

Dark Chocolate Bark with Pomegranate, Sea Salt, & Chocolate Cookie Crumbs 

1 pound dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used 58% cocoa) 
1/4 cup coconut oil 
1.5 cups pomegranate arils (from about 2 medium pomegranates) 
1/2 cup chocolate cookies, crumbled (I used Trader Joe's Joe Joes) 
1 scant teaspoon chunky sea salt 

Prep the toppings. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Slice pomegranates in half then submerge in water. Remove the pomegranate arils from the pith. The arils will fall to the bottom of the bowl and the pith will rise to the top. Skim the pith from the top and drain the water. Lay pomegranate arils on a paper towel and pat to dry. Crumble the cookies into rough chunks. Roughly chop the chocolate. 

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Heat the chocolate in the bowl of a double boiler over simmering water until melted. Remove from heat and stir in coconut oil until completely combined. Stir in half of the pomegranate arils, the pour the chocolate mixture into the baking sheet, allowing it to spread out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining arils, cookie crumbs, and sea salt. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then crack the bark into pieces and enjoy. Keeps in the fridge. 

Notes: 

• I was a little unsure about adding the cookies so I only added them to half of the bark. I can report, the cookies were definitely a good idea. 
• Feel free to get creative when it comes to the toppings.  

Orange Cranberry & Oat Breakfast Muffins {vegan}

I must confess, I've always been a sucker for muffins. I'd choose a sweet, moist, crumbly muffin filled with bursting fruit over a cupcake any day. Don't even get me started on the the muffin top crumbles. I have a collection of muffin tin liners above the microwave with colors and designs for every season. But you see, I have this issue where once I eat one muffin, I eat ALL THE MUFFINS. Like zero self-control. They are just so small and delicious, I swear they call my name, and before I know it my desk is covered in dirty muffin tin liners and I feel super guilty. 

So in attempt to get inspired while scrolling through my favorite food blogs last week, I discovered these cranberry orange muffins. I've never been much of a cranberry fan, but I knew we had a big bag of them left-over from when I made Dark Chocolate Cranberry Crumble Cake last month so I figured I'd give them a try. Knowing my muffin obsession, I attempted to make these a little healthier so I tossed out the 3/4 cups of sugar the recipe called for and poured in a nice 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup (seriously, I put that shit in everything) instead. To make them more suitable for breakfast, I swapped out the all purpose flour and pulsed some oats into flour for added protein and fiber. While I was at it I trader butter for coconut oil and threw in some flax seed to replace the egg because why not make them vegan? How easy was that?! {cue Ina Garten} I added a touch of cinnamon for warmth and to combat the tangy citrus and topped things off with a sweet oat crumble. The results are so so good. 

They make the perfect breakfast muffins that won't leave you feeling guilty. They are bright and zesty (the fresh squeezed OJ does that!) which serves as the perfect pick-me-up for cold winter mornings. They are unbelievably moist and the oat crumble makes them feel like such a treat but somehow still healthy at the same time. Pop these guys in the toaster with a nice smear of butter/earth balance and you will thank me. 

Orange Cranberry & Oat Breakfast Muffins 
Adapted from Pastry Affair 
Makes 24 muffins 

For the muffins:
2 flax eggs (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water + 2 tbsp flax seed meal + 1/4 tsp baking powder) or chicken eggs
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats 
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry 
zest of 2 oranges 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 cup pure maple syrup 
1 cup coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (from about 4 oranges) 
2 heaping cups cranberries (fresh or frozen) 

For the crumble: 
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats 
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour 
1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 tablespoons coconut oil, cold 

Prepare the flax eggs. In a small prep bowl stir flaxseed meal, water, and baking soda together. Let sit for 15-20 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blend oats in a food processor fitted with a blade until it becomes powdery, about 1 minute. Don't worry about getting it as fine as regular flour, it will have more body and chunkiness and that's okay. In a medium bowl, whisk the oat "flour", whole wheat pastry flour, orange zest, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.

Make the crumble. Whisk the oats, flour, sugar and salt together until combined. Using a fork mix in the coconut oil until mixture becomes wet and crumbly. Refrigerate until right before use. Even 3 minutes in the fridge will help the coconut oil harden up. 

In a large bowl whisk together maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and flax eggs. The oil will look like it won't incorporate, but just keep whisking, it will. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, one third at a time, whisking to combine. Once incorporated it will be super thick and hard to stir. Pour in the orange juice and whisk until completely incorporated. Stir in the cranberries. Pour into lined muffin tins, top with oat crumble, and cook for 30-35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 




 

Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate

My definition of hot chocolate was forever changed a little over a year ago while visiting Prague. Prague is known for a lot of things, but of those things in my opinion, their hot chocolate is the most life-changing. We drank it a least once a day while we were visiting and with each sip I remember thinking "oh my god, this must be straight up heavy cream mixed with a chocolate bar" because literally it was that thick, creamy, and rich. We're not talking some weak-ass american cocoa powder mixed into milk, or worse, water, with marshmallows so stale they barely constitute as food. This stuff was the real deal, and it put every hot chocolate I'd had beforehand to shame. 

Obviously I knew we had to re-create it at home, so a couple weeks ago when I discovered that the hot chocolate pellets we'd taken home as a souvenir were looking a little worse for the wear, I knew we had to use them fast. So late one night while my husband was in the shower, I whipped it out. When I looked at the directions, and saw that it recommended over a cup of chocolate per half cup of whole milk, I figured that had to be a typo and thinking it'd be best to preserve this precious chocolate I used way less. When Nate got out of the shower and found out what I had done he was pissed and preceded to make his own following the instructions exactly, despite the massive amount of chocolate and small serving size. His was better. A lot better. 

A couple days later he made us the remaining chocolate but confessed that he'd combined his whole milk and my almond milk together. I don't drink milk, for a lot of reasons, so I skeptically sipped it down, determined to make my own version, completely dairy free. 

I knew I wanted to keep the high percentage of chocolate, but I wanted a creamier consistency than store-bought almond milk alone would give me. It needed cream. Coconut milk! Seriously, that stuff is magic. And because I wanted dairy-free chocolate that meant it had to be dark and seriously rich. So rich it became bitter. I wanted to avoid pouring sugar in, so I went for my favorite sweetener of choice- maple syrup. Perfection. The result is chocolatey. Super chocolatey. You absolutely cannot taste the coconut or the maple and are just left with the creaminess and sweetness they each provide. I've made this what feels like a dozen times this holiday season for vegans and milk drinkers alike and everyone loves it. And best of all, it tastes just like some brilliant person melted a chocolate bar in heavy cream, poured it in a mug and called it hot chocolate. Genius. 

Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate 
Makes 5 1/2 cups; Serves 4-6 

Hot chocolate: 
3 cups almond milk 
1 can full-fat coconut milk 
7.5oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped (see notes)
2 tsp vanilla extract 
4 tbsp pure maple syrup 

For the coconut whipped cream: (optional) 
1 can coconut cream, refrigerated (I use the Trader Joes brand) 
1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
3 tbsp powdered sugar 
pinch of salt 
cocoa powder for dusting (optional) 

Heat almond milk and coconut milk in a medium saucepan, I used cast iron as it retains heat well for serving. Once the liquid comes to a full boil turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Continue to stir until completely melted, then add in vanilla, salt, and maple syrup to taste (see notes). Depending on how warm you like your hot chocolate, you may need to reheat slightly before serving. 

To make the coconut whipped cream pour cream into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, if it's started to separate that's ok - it will incorporate again, and whip on medium speed for about two minutes until fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, sugar, and salt and whisk for another minute. Adjust to taste. 

Pour about 1 cup of hot chocolate into each mug - this stuff is seriously thick so a little goes a long way. Top the hot chocolate with whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder before serving. 
 

Notes: Contrary to what I'd previously thought, just because it's not milk chocolate doesn't mean it's vegan. So if you're wanting to keep this completely dairy-free, check those labels carefully. I ended up using Trader Joe's "Pound Plus" dark chocolate bar with 55% cocoa. If you go darker than that you will most likely need to up the amount of sweetener you use to combat the bitterness. I found 4 tablespoons of maple syrup made it just right, not sweet, but also not bitter. If you're into the super dark, bitter, more "european" chocolate flavor you could totally reduce the amount of sweetener as well. 

You're more than welcome to put alcohol in it too! My dad had his with Kahlua and I'm sure bourbon would be great as well. 

Served cold this stuff is a whole different beast. I've inevitably had extra a couple times so I pop it in the fridge. It's shockingly as good cold as it is hot.